TAKE THE JUMP EVENT: DUREN, GERMANY

Kreuzau-Nideggen Church Summer Fête  meets German launch of Take the Jump

On September 15th we celebrated our annual church festival in Kreuzau-Nideggen parish with lots of activities. 

With the topic of preservation of God’s creation, sustainability was the focus of the day. Combined with splendid weather and a fabulous clown trio, we shared lots of fun and enjoyment with our guests.

What was special about our fête was its dedication to Take the Jump. Even in the opening worship service, we created links to the ‘Dress Retro’ , ‘Eat Green’ and ‘Travel Fresh’ shifts, and one of the clowns demonstrated in a strikingly vivid manner what fun is to be had in ‘taking the jump’ from one place to another. 

The youth choir from Düren's central church enriched the service with their wonderful voices and all the guests joined wholeheartedly in the words of ‘We are the world…’.

For the culinary part, we offered authentic Indian vegetarian food, prepared by a native family originally from India. Otherwise, we asked for food donations in our community – vegan and vegetarian preferred – and were able to present a delicious variety of salads and other dishes as well as cake and other desserts.

Face painting for kids and a barefoot trail were our additional outside activities, accompanied by the ever-present clownery. Inside we had several stalls related to Take the Jump activities. 

Everyone was welcomed at the entrance by the slogan ‘Einfach leben’ – which means both ‘simply live’ and 'live simply' and conveys the idea of ‘enjoy your life’. The Take the Jump Team introduced people to their own new website, which they translated from its English original into German, and were there for discussion and information on the initiative’s background and options to participate. A dot-survey was used to help people find out where they stand in taking their own ‘jump’.

All around there were stalls with sustainability as their theme, from second hand books and up-cycled  textiles, via home-made pesto (again veggy and vegan) and home-made wax cloths (an ecological alternative to clingfilm), to a final display of cargo e-bikes with information for renting and the option of a trial ride.

Thanks to all participants, donors and helping hands, first and foremost our kitchen volunteers, we had an enjoyable day all round with great food, fun, talks and discussions.